René Paul Salathé received the MS, PhD, and Habilitation (Privatdoz­ent) degrees in Physics at the Univer­sity of Bern. He worked in the Telecom Industry before he became a full professor of Applied Optics at EPFL in 1989.

His research activities included biomedical optics, medical laser applications, fiber sensor applications, and assembly technologies for miniaturized optical systems. At EPFL he directed the Center for Laser Applications, the Institute of Applied Optics, and the Micro-engineering Department.

He participated in the evaluation of research programs and the assessment of their outcome in Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, Ireland, Sweden, the UK, Canada, and the US. He also worked as an expert for innovation assessment and impact evaluation for the Medical University of Vienna, AERES in France, the Deutsche Forschungs­gemeinschaft, the German Excellence Initiative, and the Swiss Innovation Agency (KTI/CTI).

He currently works as a technology consultant for companies and research laboratories. He also serves on the foundation board of the Essential Medical Devices Foundation in Switzerland and the scientific advisory board of the “Fraunhofer Institut für Lasertechnik ILT“ in Aachen, Germany.